I'm loyal me!!

‘I'm loyal me!’ – the mantra of one of the contestants on last year’s series of Love Island. So with Love Island back on our screens what better time to discuss loyalty than right now.

Now before I lose half of my audience, this isn't a post about Love Island, but about loyalty. However, for those of you who have not watched it, I will give you a brief synopsis about the programme and the link it has to loyalty. Love Island is eight weeks of watching scantily clad beautiful people fall in and out of love, argue, make up, silly challenges, more scantily clad beautiful people, bed hopping, partner swapping, lie-detectors, pretend babies and partying, with the added spice of drink, drama and debauchery. I know what you’re thinking ‘why on earth am I not watching this?’ It is trash TV at its very best and I unashamedly LOVE IT!

The programme also has a habit of changing your opinion on someone very quickly, and our ‘loyal’ Islander (as they are known) epitomises this completely. My wife and I sat feeling so sorry for this girl whose partner had ripped out her heart and trod on it in front of her face last year. She then became the one person we wanted to be dumped from the island in the quickest way possible. After her beau left her for another woman, whom he claims he had a real connection with, Georgia decided to throw around the phrase ‘I'm loyal, me’ and ‘you know me, Babes, I'm honest’. Unfortunately for young Georgia, there are about 69 cameras in the Love Island villa that prove she is anything but. In the end, it became clear that the more she said it the more she believed it. So, does saying something hundreds of times make it true? Obviously not. After being the sweetheart of the nation (for Love Island followers, that is) she quickly became the pantomime villain and was booed by an entire audience for her actions of kissing her 'bestie’s' boy. ‘I'm loyal me’ has became the anti-loyal saying of last summer, creating an army of memes including the highly creative Loyal Mail, Loyal Airforce and Chicken Loyale.

So the link to business, in the working world I was given advice many years ago that while you are climbing the proverbial ladder you need to look to move either companies or roles within your company every 2/3 years in order to help you progress. Until I was made redundant, twice on the bounce may I add, I worked to that advice and continue to do so. I feel that when people find work gets too much they will look to jump ship; it's sometimes the easy option after all. However, some loyalty to your company can often be rewarded.

Loyalty in the workplace and how does it work?

Loyalty at work is a complex subject and can have both positive and negative effects, let’s first look at the positives; Take one of my previous Senior Consultants for instance. She had been with the business for more than seven years and started as a Resourcer, then she was promoted to Administrator, then to Trainee Consultant, Consultant and most recently a Senior Consultant – ultimately, her loyalty (and hard work) has paid off, including being rewarded with a new company car. So being loyal has helped her career progression. In this scenario the company recognised the dedication and progression made by an individual, rewarding said employee with promotions and other benefits. A lot of companies will look after staff in the same manner, however you need to be careful and be mindful of the conversations you have when you start a new role. If a company promotes within and they discuss a career ladder, then ask to see it. Ask questions on the expectation levels they have for you to reach that next step. Let them map out your career path, they will ask you where you want to be in five years, it is your responsibility to yourself to ask where can I be in five years? It is these early conversations that will help you decide whether the company matches your own future aspirations. An interview is as much for you to interview them as it is for the company to interview you. Remember they are putting faith in you to perform for the company, so can you put that same level of trust that they will manage your career properly. 

As I said above, you do not need to move companies every 2/3 years, but do look for progression, your next challenge or added responsibility (just make sure you are rewarded for it). Looking at it from a negative point of view; I have known of people who have been too loyal to a company and the company has not reciprocated that loyalty. One individual not seeing any promotion for many years (13, in fact) and their career ultimately flat-lining. There are warning signs everywhere, but you can also speak to the senior members of the team and you can ask them what their path was? How long did it take them? The signs in smaller companies are easier to see, length of service in one position is normally a bad factor for your future career path. In my early days of office work I was interviewing for a new role, I was promised the earth and that I would be promoted, unfortunately after several fairly quick steps on the ladder I was subsequently at the top without knowing it – this wasn’t the top I imagined either, however the person above me would never leave and the rest of the company was not expanding. I took the advice that was given to me regarding service and cut my stay with them at the 3 year point. But even a short burst of loyalty to the company you are working for, 2/3 years as I stated above, would be enough to show future employers that you have staying power or your existing company that you are in it for the long haul and deserve some form of reward – either way, you are onto a winner.

There are two factors that seem to push people into looking for a new role – Management (another topic much discussed at the moment) and the lack of future prospects. We all know that money helps, but money is normally the straw that breaks the camel’s back. So, sometimes there are factors that make it difficult to stay loyal at work. Had it not been for the redundancies, I would have remained in some of my positions for at least another year or two before looking to move up (or on). Consequently, my career history is a little more chequered than I would like, but in all honesty it hasn’t really held me back. Circumstances are sometimes out of our control; the important thing is how you react.

So is loyalty a characteristic you have? Is it innate or can circumstances make you loyal?

This is a tough one for me, as I have been told by many people that I am a loyal person; sometimes to my own detriment. If I believe something is right, then I stick to my guns; it's not that I am not open to ideas or putting the shoe on the other foot, but morals for me are extremely important, and let's face it, I can be extremely stubborn.

I have worked with people who have no loyalty. No loyalty to their candidates, clients, bosses, the company they worked for or even their husband - all just to succeed. Have they excelled? In a word, yes. However, one of my former colleagues used what she thought was going to make her successful and handled a situation in a certain way. This lady was not about to worry about her morals in order to make it to the top, but was this her character or had something changed within her? Scratch the surface and you find out this person had someone close to her be unfaithful; so she trusted no-one and was loyal to no-one but herself. Does it make her a bad person? Not really.

As a family man I can definitely describe myself as devoutly loyal to my wife and children. Was I always this loyal in younger years? Maybe not. But my wife and family have made me into the loyal and, sometimes annoyingly, moral person I am today. This mirrors my passion and loyalties towards my previous (well most of them) and present company.

So, what was the point of all this? Well, my advice for work is be loyal to the company you work for, after all they pay your wages. However, you don't need to stay there for a lifetime to be rewarded, promoted or receive pay rises. You can move on; just don't be too hasty. More importantly, talk to your managers about your aspirations. At the end of the day, if they are not aware of where you want to go then they may think you are happy plodding along. Sometimes new positions can be created, new opportunities arise or they are planning to open a new office only minutes from your front door (they just haven’t told anyone yet) – then who knows staying might be worthwhile. Move on if it is right for you, but remember the grass isn't always greener. Check they have a plan for you and they know what level you can reach.

Loyalty stretches far and wide, covering so many aspects of everyday life. Maybe one day if Georgia says it enough or has a change in her life circumstances she may become loyal too.